Brooks on Outliers

David Brooks wrote a very thoughtful column in the New York Times yesterday on "Outliers." Much of what he said was very flattering.

I have just two comments in response.

1. Brooks argues that I "slight the centrality of individual character and individual creativity" by focusing so much on the cultural and contextual determinants of success. Successful people, he says, must begin with two beliefs--"that the future can be better than the present, and I have the power to make it so." I completely agree. The chapter on lawyers, for example, is devoted to the idea of "meaningful work," which is just what Brooks is talking about here, the perception that there is a connection in our daily life between effort and reward. It's such that I think that the belief in meaningful work is socially constructed. Those highly successful children and grandchildren of Jewish immigrants who are the subject of that lawyers chapter were not successful because each, independently, happened to be endowed with the magical genetic trait of self-efficacy. They were successful because their very fortunate cultural circumstances gave them that belief in meaningful work. Nurture here is driving nature, not the other way around.

2. Brooks suggests that Outliers represents a kind of social determinism. But that's an odd comment to make in the context of a column championing the role of nature over nurture. It's only nature that is unchangable and deterministic. Nuture, by definition, isn't. And the last half of Outliers is devoted to showing that when we confront our cultural legacies--whether it's in the cockpit or the classroom--we can make a big difference in how well we do our jobs.

Comments

Karly Shaffert
Pd 1
3/24/11

Dear Mr. Gladwell,

Your book Outliers had more information than needed to talk about people who are successful. I felt as though you repeated information over and over again. The information you supplied in your book was remarkable. The facts were persuasive and to the point of what you were trying to say. From your point of view, I understand that you are trying to identify and show how one can be an outlier, however; you could have least used different examples. Although this book is not one of my favorites, I did like a few chapters.
I am a huge hockey fan and in fact was always curious why most hockey players had birthdays all closely related. You have answered my question. Chapter 1- The Matthew Effect significantly made me want to read the book more. I thought you would be talking more about sports throughout the book, furthermore; I was wrong. I agreed with the situation depending on when you are born, one could be successful. The advantage of someone born in the beginning of the year will help that person to successful with whatever they want to do. Your evidence you provides persuaded me that this could be possible and very true.
Also Chapter 5 persuaded me that your heritage can make one become successful. I believe that Joe Flom had pure luck on his side. You surely persuaded me that during the great depression in order to become a successful lawyer, you had to be Jewish and your parents had to be in the garment industry. However, I think that even if you weren’t Jewish, one could have become a successful lawyer. Most of this is pure luck. Basically, being at the right place at the right time will definitely get you places. That was a huge factor and just like chapter 1, being born at the right time also affects how you will become an outlier. I did like it though, because it’s unbelievable how one can be dirt poor and become wealthy just by being what they are.
Additionally, to tie your book all together, I really like the Epilogue and how you added your own life into being an outlier. You are absolutely right about someone becoming successful. It takes time and effort and not ‘just by themselves’ that they became an outlier. I strongly agree that one person can make a significant difference in the world. It can happen to anyone if luck is on their side. I truly think that this chapter pulled your whole book together describing how one can become an outlier. All in all, the book had great information about how each person became an outlier and how one can become one in the future. In contrast, it was really repetitive and could have used more examples rather than using the same ones over again.

Karly Shaffert

This is for a highschool Senior English assignment for the book on outliers.

Your book Outliers had more information than needed to talk about people who are successful. I felt as though you repeated information over and over again. The information you supplied in your book was remarkable. The facts were persuasive and to the point of what you were trying to say. From your point of view, I understand that you are trying to identify and show how one can be an outlier, however; you could have least used different examples. Although this book is not one of my favorites, I did like a few chapters.
I am a huge hockey fan and in fact was always curious why most hockey players had birthdays all closely related. You have answered my question. Chapter 1- The Matthew Effect significantly made me want to read the book more. I thought you would be talking more about sports throughout the book, furthermore; I was wrong. I agreed with the situation depending on when you are born, one could be successful. The advantage of someone born in the beginning of the year will help that person to successful with whatever they want to do. Your evidence you provides persuaded me that this could be possible and very true.
Also Chapter 5 persuaded me that your heritage can make one become successful. I believe that Joe Flom had pure luck on his side. You surely persuaded me that during the great depression in order to become a successful lawyer, you had to be Jewish and your parents had to be in the garment industry. However, I think that even if you weren’t Jewish, one could have become a successful lawyer. Most of this is pure luck. Basically, being at the right place at the right time will definitely get you places. That was a huge factor and just like chapter 1, being born at the right time also affects how you will become an outlier. I did like it though, because it’s unbelievable how one can be dirt poor and become wealthy just by being what they are.
Additionally, to tie your book all together, I really like the Epilogue and how you added your own life into being an outlier. You are absolutely right about someone becoming successful. It takes time and effort and not ‘just by themselves’ that they became an outlier. I strongly agree that one person can make a significant difference in the world. It can happen to anyone if luck is on their side. I truly think that this chapter pulled your whole book together describing how one can become an outlier. All in all, the book had great information about how each person became an outlier and how one can become one in the future. In contrast, it was really repetitive and could have used more examples rather than using the same ones over again.

Karly Shaffert

This is for a high school senior English assignment that we had to do on your book outliers.

Dear Malcolm Gladwell,
Recently my Senior English course read your novel Outliers as a way to learn more about how timing and location define a person. This also happens to be the essential question of our class. Our class relates everything that we learn back to this question as we search for why we are here, what our purpose is, and where we are going to be going in our future, as our last year of high school ends. Through the many topics we have discussed in class which includes, diversity, naming, and religion, our time spent on Outliers perfectly relates back to the essential question through the many ways that you describe how success is achieved by many people throughout the world. One chapter that exemplifies our essential question very well is the chapter titled The Matthew Effect. This is the chapter that explains how the birth date and location of students, sports players, and many other people plays a part in their success. Specifically this chapter talks about hockey players in Vancouver. The hockey legacy in Canada and the timing of the hockey players’ birthdays play a part in their success because depending on the cutoff date some players will be able to have more experience and practice among team members who are generally younger and have less experience, giving them a push on to major teams.
Other than the fact that many of the chapters relate back to our essential question, there are many chapters that I agreed with and found interesting. One of these chapters is the 10,000 Hour Rule. I found this chapter informative because it showed another side to the success of many of the most influential artists and musicians known throughout the world. I always knew success took practice but this chapter showed how 10,000 hours was a guideline that almost every successful person achieved. A chapter that was interesting was The Roseto Mystery. This chapter shows that culture plays part in one’s success and health. I found this interesting because I never thought that the fact that the Rosetans were more free and friendly could affect one’s health so much, but it gives a new look on health and science and how much one’s environment plays a role in the health of a community. The other chapter that I found interesting and informative was The Ethnicity Theory of Plane Crashes. This chapter was interesting because it showed how culture and communication is a crucial skill that must be mastered to perform jobs to their ultimate safety.
Many topics discussed in Outliers are ideas that relate to many experiences that I have had throughout my life thus far. The Ethnicity Theory of Plane Crashes relates to my life because throughout the many jobs that I have had communication was a crucial aspect of my job. Not only was communication critical, I had to communicate with many other cultures and different types of people. This was a challenge because it made the job more difficult but in the end the job had to be done so I had to learn how to communicate with different types of people. The topics discussed in A Jamaican Story also relate to my life. Growing up in today’s society all depends on the opportunities that are taken at the right time. It is important for me and other students to take as many opportunities as possible even if they are small. These and most of the other topics discussed are ones that not only relate to my past and present experiences but are crucial as I take the next stages in my life that could take me to future careers and other opportunities.
From,
JOSH

Dear Mr.Gladwell,
The way the information presented in Outliers addresses the question of how time and place determine individual success provides an interesting point of view on a theory I have never given much thought about before. To what extent does time and place truly have an impact on an individual’s life? Well, Outliers clearly demonstrates that some are better at achieving success than others because they have better luck and an increased number of opportunities. In the past, success has been viewed as a product of abnormal intellect and high IQ; however, the theory of success as a product of uncontrollable aspects of life, like luck and opportunity, has recently become favorable. These opportunities may be based on date of birth and could increase an individual’s chance of lifelong accomplishments or prevent it. In the world of athletics, an early birth date may be the deciding factor in whether or not someone plays in the major leagues. Although uncontrollable by the hockey player, being born in the first three months of the year could potentially allow for increased time to improve on skills and ultimately provide greater opportunities and exposure to competitive teams. This theory holds true in many countries and team rosters act as evidence that support the correlation between early birth dates and success. On the opposite end of this theory is the idea that date of birth and place of birth may actually prevent success. When discussing the frequency of plane crashes, place of birth seems to have an overwhelmingly negative effect. Those born in countries where authority is more highly valued may have an increasingly difficult time communicating with those in command and ultimately factor in to the number of plane crashes per airline. These two chapters were very interesting because they addressed an issue by both ends of the spectrum and supported each argument with evidence, making the theory of date and place of birth both intriguing and informative.
In the grand scheme of things I think that this book relates to everyone’s life in some way. I feel as though many read this book in hopes of gaining insight on how to live their lives in such a way to ultimately become successful. As stories of success arise, many get this idea of overnight success in their heads, a theory disproved by Outliers. Growing up I was always taught that “practice makes perfect” and that “you get what you put in”, so when reading Gladwell’s thoughts on the 10,000 rule I could not help whole-heartedly agree that one needs 10,000 hours of experience to even have a shot at being successful in their field of work. Of all the chapters included in Outliers I think I, as well as many other people, will take the most away from the 10,000 hour rule because it is a controllable aspect in life, unlike place of birth and time of birth.
This book has assisted me in looking at success from a different point of view and has allowed me to assess how time and place can impact the future for many individuals. It is obvious to me now, after reading Outliers, that time and place are essential aspects of success. I have used the lessons learned from this book and applied them to my life, and when thinking about my future and hopeful acceptance into Medical School after college, I wonder if the 10,000 hour rule would apply to a college student. Although no college student probably spends 10,000 hours on their intended major, I wonder if Gladwell’s theory holds true when comparing a Harvard University student with a University of Pittsburgh student. The Harvard University student has obviously been given a greater educational opportunity, but my question is if a student from the University of Pittsburgh put more time and effort into their studies than the Harvard University student, do you think the student from Pittsburgh could become more successful later in life? Or do you think opportunity and experience cancel each other out in the end?

Malcolm Gladwell:
First, I would like to express my gratitude to you for writing such intriguing and unique novels; I have read Outliers, The Tipping Point, and am currently halfway through Blink. I l am fascinated by how you analyze statistics and experiments to find patterns in success, trends, etc. Even though I would love to discuss all of your novels, this is a class assignment where I have to specifically compose a letter addressing Outliers. At my school, we have central, “essential questions,” in which all of our assignments and studies correlate to. By the end of the school year, the novels discussed and assignments completed should guide us to draw conclusions and discover answers regarding the essential question. For senior English, our essential question is “to what extent does time and place define a person?” Obviously now you can understand why we read Outliers, as its main idea is that success is derived from the opportunities a person receives due to his/her time and place in the world.
I would first like to address the chapter on the 10,000 hour rule. This chapter is completely satisfying to me, because it proves that although many famous people are talented; their success is normally due to the major opportunities they have received to perfect their talents. The 10,000 hour rule does not demean the achievements of successful people, but it definitely puts their success into perspective. From this chapter I have realized that many people have comparable potential and abilities as famous people, they just have not been presented with the same opportunities. I agree that Bill Gates became so successful at a young age because of all his opportunities to program, but do you think that he would still be successful without his several opportunities? Can time and place completely alter a person’s success? When deciding on the university I will attend next year, I attempted to weigh out which school would present me with the most opportunities in the future. Keeping the 10,000 hour rule in the back of my mind, I decided on Drexel University. My decision was mainly based on the fact that Drexel has an amazing co-op program that would provide me with the most work experience during college, so that I can have as much practice as possible before searching for a job.
In “The Trouble with Geniuses Part two,” you showed a different perspective on how a high social status leads to success. In this chapter, you showed how wealthier children have higher opportunities to become successful because of their ability to communicate with people. Although I completely agree with your idea, unfortunately, I think the main reason why wealthier children generally become more successful is because of their wealth. The children’s economic placement provides them with higher educations, better connections, and a “boost” in investments. For example, if two students of equal intelligence applied to Harvard, the student with more money would be accepted rather than the poor student. Everything is based on money. You cannot become President if you are poor, it’s virtually impossible.
My favorite chapter was “The Ethnic Theory of Plane Crashes.” I felt completely enlightened after reading this chapter, because prior to reading it, I simply thought all plane crashes occurred to malfunctions in the planes design and structure, or weather conditions. It was interesting and somewhat frightening to discover that most plane crashes occur because of human error. As mentioned, differences in language clearly create problems in communication. However, the part of the chapter that was most intriguing to me was how ethnicities play a role in how submissive/assertive people are. I have always been aware of how different people act as a result of their ethnicity, but I never thought of it as a good or bad thing. Now I can only hope that when I travel by plane, the crew shares a common language and is comfortable with pointing out each other’s flaws!
Malcolm Gladwell, thank you again for dedicating your time to uncovering how time and place presents people with opportunities that can amount to their success or failure. Outliers is a novel that presents people with a new way of thinking about success, talent, and intelligence.

As a part of the course of my English class, I have read Outliers and have analyzed an essential question of the class which is, “To what extent does time and place define a person?” At first glance, I thought this question simply pertained to luck. It wasn’t until after reading Outliers, did I realize that time and place has more influence than luck as I first thought. Throughout Outliers the examples and stories you use in each chapter showcase how much of an impact that time and place may define a person with their successes, whether it pertains to hockey players being born in certain months, or people of a certain race growing up during the right era, or possibly studying at a university who was the first to have the latest technology.
Though I’ve found every chapter very interesting and eye-opening, chapters three, five, and eight were able to appeal to me the most. In chapter three, the importance of intelligence is brought forward. I’m sure that a majority of people will agree, that intelligence may be a key indicator of future success. I myself believed that those with unquestionable intelligence were destined to accomplish any and everything they aspire to. It seems that an assumption was made that those intelligent people would use their aptitude to achieve their goals in the future with no road bumps. It wasn’t until you brought up Terman and his “Termites” that I began to realize that intelligence is only an added advantage, rather than a free pass on the one-way track to success. Even after Terman made his mistake with his “Termites”, society continues to make the same mistake, profiling those with higher intelligence levels as the future’s elite.
Another chapter that piqued my interest was Chapter Five: The Three Lessons of Joe Flom. This chapter in particular seemed to relate to my own life, not in the rags-to-riches story, but of one of his lessons which was “The Importance of Being Jewish.” This lesson in particular revolved around the idea that having the right culture at the right time may give you more opportunities. This definitely seems to relate to my own life, for my parents are of the generation of the boat people from Vietnam. My mother has constantly reminded me throughout life that I was very fortunate and lucky to be born in America. I knew she was not given the opportunities as I receive everyday. Unfortunately, she was part of the “wrong” generation. War broke out in her homeland, she had to flee her country with her siblings, she came to America without parents, and having no opportunity to complete her education at a university. She really had no choice, she along with her siblings, had to go to work straight out of high school to help provide some type of income to support themselves. While today, I ,along with many other Vietnamese-Americans, are able to have as many opportunities as other Americans. We always had a chance to do something more than go into the work force right out of high school; our parents did not. There is absolutely no doubt that my generation has more to offer than hers ever did, she was a part of a Maurice Janklow generation.
Chapter eight also related to my life. My initial reaction to the title was pleasantly surprised to say the least, but as I continued to read through the chapter, your reasoning seemed so clear. Coming from a Vietnamese background, my parents have always emphasized the importance of hard work and excelling in my education. The lessons and principles that they have stressed throughout my life will definitely find their ways to developing in my children one day. One of the quotes in this chapter was “ success is a function of persistence and doggedness and willing to work hard to make sense of something”, this statement almost sums up everything my parents have taught me and one that I can really agree whole-heartedly with.
I am glad that this book was part of a requirement for my English class, because I truly enjoyed each point you had to make. They all gave me a new perspective on how and why people are able to become successful due to their culture, intelligence, along with their timing and place. Thank you for adding perspective in my life and the lives of many other’s I am sure.

Your book Outliers had more information than needed to talk about people who are successful. I felt as though you repeated information over and over again. The information you supplied in your book was remarkable. The facts were persuasive and to the point of what you were trying to say. From your point of view, I understand that you are trying to identify and show how one can be an outlier, however; you could have least used different examples. Although this book is not one of my favorites, I did like a few chapters.
I am a huge hockey fan and in fact was always curious why most hockey players had birthdays all closely related. You have answered my question. Chapter 1- The Matthew Effect significantly made me want to read the book more. I thought you would be talking more about sports throughout the book, furthermore; I was wrong. I agreed with the situation depending on when you are born, one could be successful. The advantage of someone born in the beginning of the year will help that person to successful with whatever they want to do. Your evidence you provides persuaded me that this could be possible and very true.
Also Chapter 5 persuaded me that your heritage can make one become successful. I believe that Joe Flom had pure luck on his side. You surely persuaded me that during the great depression in order to become a successful lawyer, you had to be Jewish and your parents had to be in the garment industry. However, I think that even if you weren’t Jewish, one could have become a successful lawyer. Most of this is pure luck. Basically, being at the right place at the right time will definitely get you places. That was a huge factor and just like chapter 1, being born at the right time also affects how you will become an outlier. I did like it though, because it’s unbelievable how one can be dirt poor and become wealthy just by being what they are.
Additionally, to tie your book all together, I really like the Epilogue and how you added your own life into being an outlier. You are absolutely right about someone becoming successful. It takes time and effort and not ‘just by themselves’ that they became an outlier. I strongly agree that one person can make a significant difference in the world. It can happen to anyone if luck is on their side. I truly think that this chapter pulled your whole book together describing how one can become an outlier. All in all, the book had great information about how each person became an outlier and how one can become one in the future. In contrast, it was really repetitive and could have used more examples rather than using the same ones over again.

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I don't think you'll find any difference between the math skills of the Southern "rice culture" Chinese and the Northern "wheat culture" Chinese.
Their math proficiency is due to highly developed rote learning skills which is due to their language. Before they are in first grade, Chinese children have to learn upwards of 5000 characters. They not only have to be able to read them, buty also able to write them, memorizing the order of each stroke. In addition, China,in terms of education, is a meritocracy. The high schools and universities are rated. To get into a number one university, you have to graduate from a number one high school. To get into a number one high schoolo, you have to rank high on a test. Mem orizing characters provides them with the discipline to study hard to try to make it to a number one university since those graduates are favored in the workplace.

I have just read Outliers...in two sittings. Regarding the Ethnic Theory of Plane Crashes, I was so drawn to the recent Fukushima experience. Observing the unfolding disaster and the Power Company management saving face before colleagues, Firm, country and the world, I felt very uncomfortable. I didn't know I was watching the Ethnic Theory of Nuclear Plant Meltdowns. I love Japan and Japanese but I felt the pain of their genius, pride and shame.

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Bio

I'm a writer for the New Yorker magazine, and the author of four books, "The Tipping Point: How Little Things Make a Big Difference", "Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking" and "Outliers: The Story of Success." My latest book, "What the Dog Saw" is a compilation of stories published in The New Yorker. I was born in England, and raised in southwestern Ontario in Canada. Now I live in New York City.

My great claim to fame is that I'm from the town where they invented the BlackBerry. My family also believes (with some justification) that we are distantly related to Colin Powell. I invite you to look closely at the photograph above and draw your own conclusions.